FLORENCE, Ala. (August 18, 2024) – Football season is now less than one week away, as the University of North Alabama football team held its final Saturday practice at the Cox Creek Sports Complex yesterday afternoon.
For the month of August leading up to opening week, RoarLions.com will release breakdowns of every position. Today's spotlight is on special teams.
The Lions have four kickers on the roster, including redshirt senior
Sam Contorno who returns for his sixth season at North Alabama. Contorno has made 14 career field goals at UNA with a long of 43. He is also 66-70 on extra point attempts.
UNA also added Middle Tennessee State transfer
Scott Payne to compete for the starting spot. Payne played four seasons at MTSU and appeared in 44 games as the kickoff specialist. He kicked off 222 times for a 60.1 yard average.
A number of sophomores return to the roster, led by starting punter
Adam Watford who earned FCS Football Central and Phil Steele Freshman All-American honors last season. He was also a second team all-conference pick in the UAC after averaging 42.3 yards per punt on 57 punts.
Other kickers and punters in the mix include redshirt sophomores
Nathan Ogletree and
Jack Rice, as well as true sophomore
Zach Aird. The Lions also return starting longsnapper
Nathan Curry and redshirt sophomore
Evan Godwin.
"I've been here for six months, and I can tell the guys are mature for what they know and understand what the end goal is," said Payne. "Just coming in and being on one of the top special teams units in the country a couple of years ago and trying to get the young guys to understand what the main goal is here…our main focus this year is being one of the best special teams units in the country. I feel like Sam's on board with it, Adam is on board with it, Curry is on board with it and the other guys are on board."
The Lions also put an emphasis on the return game this offseason, including the addition of NAIA All-American return specialist
Logan Collier from Lindsey Wilson College. Collier finished the 2023 season with 1,090 all-purpose yards at LWC to rank ninth in school history, while also breaking the school record for kickoff return touchdowns.
Outside of Collier, the Lions return all four of the top kick and punt returners from last season — redshirt senior
Kobe Warden, true sophomores
KJ Fields and
Kaden Cooper, as well as redshirt sophomore
Jalyn Daniels. Warden returned every punt last season.
The special teams unit also brings back three of the top five rep-getters across the board in wide receiver
Justin Luke and defensive players
Cameron Jamar and
Barry Womack.
This group is coached by
Luke Roth, who enters his second season at UNA. Roth was the punter at Bethel and worked for current UNA head coach
Brent Dearmon as the special teams coordinator at Bethel in 2018. He also worked as a senior special teams analyst at Kansas in 2020.
"It's been a good fall camp," said Roth. "Good competition for all the units, a lot of young guys stepping up — guys that have been with us going on their second season now. Now that they're in it, the terminology and the scheme, you don't have to teach that as much because they've been in it for a year now."
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